Queen of the Island

As I gaze across the deck of our boat, I wonder whom I would rather be lost at sea with than my best friend Nicholas. I miss my family and other friends, but no one could be better company than he. I wonder what he is thinking as he stares across the water, his adorable face framed by his sandy-blonde, wind-swept hair against the background of the star-studded night sky. His pale blue eyes mirror the ocean and his freckles dance around his cheeks as his face becomes creased in deep thought. I wander over to him and hope that tonight Nicholas will have the strength to share those innermost thoughts with me. 1

It was exactly one week ago that our lives were changed forever. We took a ship from the port of our tropical home of Crescent Isle. I had just turned 14 the day before, on June 3rd, so it was the first time I was allowed off the island under the sole supervision of 16-year-old Nicholas. We only wanted to sail to the nearby island of Karym for my birthday, and celebrate being able to spend some vacation time alone.2

I have never seen a storm arise so fast. 10 minutes across the calm, clear waters of the Pacific Ocean, and suddenly those waters were not so calm. The dark, ominous clouds drifted in and blocked out the sunlight. The rain came down in torrents, soaking us to the bone. The foot high waves threatened to capsize us, but Crescent boats are sturdy, and we held on. When the first flash of lightning arrived, I finally go to see how scared Nicholas really was. The rain pounded on the deck for three days straight, and all the while we huddled amongst the stores below-decks that remained from the last voyage our little boat had taken. 3

I’ve never been very religious, but pray was all I could do for those long hours surrounded by darkness. I prayed it was only a thunderstorm, and not a hurricane, or worse. A hurricane could destroy our entire island; the floods would wash our beautifully decorated huts into the endless ocean, and even worse, a hurricane would likely leave Nicholas and I all alone forever.4

The prospects did not look great for the two of us. The storm had blown us miles off course to the middle of nowhere. There is blue everywhere, and I hate it. This brings us to the present. There is the blue ocean, the navy expanse of sky, and the faded blue jeans that Nicholas and I are stuck wearing, nothing else. We have lost all hope in finding Karym, but Nicholas has taken the wheel in search of home… Any home.5

The only time I have ever had to fight the elements like this before is in my dreams. My imagination has a tendency to run wild, whisking me off my feet to fantasyland. I wish I were there now… On a tropical island covered in palm trees and wildflowers, where the sun is always shining and Nicholas and I would be king and queen. I can almost taste the sweet coconut milk gliding down the back of my throat. 6

“Cassandra?” I open my eyes to Nicholas’s smiling face, framed by that never-ending expanse of green. The delicious taste of coconut milk continues to fill my mouth and mind. ‘Wait a minute… Green? What happened to the gentle rocking of the boat?’ I think to myself. I begin to cough and sputter, but Nicholas pounds me on the back. Finally I can sit up. The trees go on forever and the sun is shining. I feel Nicholas place a crown of daisies on my head, and I smile up at him, anticipating his next words. “It may not be Crescent Isle, but welcome home.”7